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Tracer experiments and RTD's in heterogeneous reactor analysis and design
Author(s) -
Shinnar Reuel,
Rumschitzki David
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690351009
Subject(s) - residence time distribution , tracer , plug flow , reactor design , fluidized bed , scale up , flow (mathematics) , scale (ratio) , formalism (music) , plug flow reactor model , chemical reactor , mechanics , fluid dynamics , process engineering , nuclear engineering , chemistry , engineering , waste management , chemical engineering , continuous stirred tank reactor , physics , nuclear physics , classical mechanics , art , musical , quantum mechanics , visual arts
This paper focuses on the problem of scale‐up of two‐phase (e.g., solid‐fluid) reactors. It outlines a class of such reactors which, for first‐order reactions, scale in the familiar single‐phase manner via an analog of the usual residence time distribution formula. The differences lie in the fact that the appropriate tracer experiment entering the formalism for this reactor class refers to a nonadsorbing tracer, and the analog of the plug flow solution is the solution for a fixed bed with fluid‐phase plug flow. Surprisingly, unlike single‐phase systems, there exist two‐phase reactors, outside of the class defined, that do not scale in this manner, even when, say, the true catalyst surface chemistry is purely first‐order. The paper discusses a few examples and implications for the design of two‐phase reactors, including fluidized beds.